Prime Minister chairs meeting on Vietnam - EU trade cooperation
The Prime Minister has directed ministries to focus on working with EU agencies to speed up the signing and ratification of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement.
On the morning of April 14, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired a meeting with a number of ministries and sectors to evaluate the results of economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) in recent times as well as orientations to promote cooperation with this important partner.
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting |
In recent years, Vietnam - EU trade relations have developed rapidly. The EU is Vietnam's second largest export market, accounting for 18% of Vietnam's exports. With bilateral trade reaching about 50 billion USD last year, the EU is Vietnam's third largest trading partner. Vietnam has a trade surplus with the EU of about 31.8 billion USD. Vietnam's export growth rate to this market reached 12.7% in 2017.
Emphasizing the importance of promoting cooperation with the EU, Vietnam's leading strategic partner in the fields of economics, trade and investment, the Prime Minister also pointed out some shortcomings and inadequacies such as the EU's withdrawal of the "yellow card" for Vietnam's seafood exports or some shortcomings in the investment environment and administrative procedures that ministries and branches must focus on removing, creating more favorable conditions to promote Vietnam - EU trade and investment.
At the meeting, the Prime Minister directed ministries to focus on working with EU agencies to accelerate the signing and ratification of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), aiming for the end of 2018. This will open up a wider space for cooperation, creating a breakthrough in Vietnam - EU economic and trade cooperation.
It is known that Japan and Singapore are urgently working with the EU to complete documents to sign bilateral FTAs this year.
EVFTA is a new generation FTA between Vietnam and 28 EU member states, a comprehensive, high-quality agreement that balances the benefits of both Vietnam and the EU, and is consistent with the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). EVFTA was announced by the leaders of Vietnam and the EU to conclude negotiations in 2015./.
